Passion is Hallmark of Premier Latin Dance Company

Ballet Hispanico

March 27, 20148:00 p.m.Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center

Celebrating 42 years of dance and culture, Ballet Hispanico is recognized as the nation’s leading Latino dance organization. Led by artistic director Eduardo Vilaro, the company boasts a rich and diverse repertory of over 100 works by the foremost choreographers and emerging artists of our time.

For its next addition to the Ovations! series, the Lively
Arts at Indiana University of Pennsylvania will host the premier Latino dance troupe
in the United States, Ballet Hispanico. Exploring the diversity of Latino
culture through a fusion of classical, Latin, and contemporary dance, this company
will perform in Fisher Auditorium of the IUP Performing Arts Center on
Thursday, March 27, 2014, at 8:00 p.m..

Since its inception over 40 years ago, the Manhattan-based
dance company has performed for more than three million people across the U.S.,
Europe, and South America. The company’s mission over the years has been on
changing stereotypes while exposing the beauty of the blend of modern and
ballet with Latin dances such as salsa, rumba, and flamenco.

Led by artistic director Eduardo Vilaro, the company boasts
a passionate, rich, and diverse repertoire of over 100 works by the foremost
choreographers and emerging artists of our time. For the Indiana engagement,
they will be performing four works, including “Umbral,” “Sombrerisimo,”
“Sorjitas,” and “Mad’moiselle.”

“Umbral” is Edgar Zendejas’s first commission for Ballet
Hispanic and is set to original music by Owen Belton. It is described as a
seductive work inspired by the beloved Mexican celebration, Día de los Muertos.

“Sombrerisimo” is a recent work commissioned by the New York
City Center. It is an absorbing exploration of identity through references to
the surrealist world of the Belgian painter René Magritte, famous for his
paintings of men in bowler hats.

In “Sortijas,” a darkly lush duet offers emotional
complexity pondering the unavoidable pull of fate in our lives. This newer work
was made possible by the MetLife Community Connections Fund of the New England
Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project.

As the finale and featuring the entire company,
“Mad’moiselle” creates a world that explores iconic male/female images and
gender identity in Latin American cultures. It was commissioned, in part, by the
Surdna Foundation.

As part of their visit, members of Ballet Hispanico will
also conduct a free Latin dance class for the community on March 26. For more
information on this, contact the Lively Arts. As details are finalized,
information will also be posted on the Lively Arts’ website and Facebook page.

Tickets for the March 27 event are available now at the
Hadley Union Building ticket office on the IUP campus or online at IUPTickets.com. They can also be
purchased by calling the HUB ticket office at (724) 357-1313. Remaining tickets
will be sold at the door one hour prior to the performance.

Tickets are priced at $24 for regular admission, $20 for
senior citizens and groups, and $12 for students and children.

The Lively Arts, a program of the College of Fine Arts,
presents nearly 200 performances, programs, and exhibits annually. More
information on this and other events within the Lively Arts is available on the website or by calling (724)
357-2787.

The Ovations! series is funded, in part, by donations
through the Premier Club, business sponsorships, grants, and the IUP Student
Cooperative Association.